Ever since The Sims 4 came out we’ve been doing Create A Sim Overviews for each Update, Pack and Kit release. Almost throughout every single CAS Overview that we’ve done there’s always been the same problem – a drastically lower amount of new CAS items for Masculine Sims compared to the amount of additions for Feminine Sims. The trend was most apparent in some of the recent Packs such as Cottage Living where important additions (such as hairstyles and clothing) are dramatically more in favor for the feminine fashion choice. This of course wouldn’t be much of a problem if The Sims 4 had a good balance of masculine and feminine options.
Instead, players find themselves either downloading Custom Content for Masculine Sims or just creating feminine characters more often as a response to this problem.
The Sims 4’s gender update from 2016 that allows players to attribute feminine fashion to masculine Sims would’ve been a partial solution to this problem as well…if it worked. Many clothing pieces in The Sims 4 do not translate well from masculine to feminine – and vice versa.
This fashion preference gap combined with badly translated meshes when playing with fashion prefence options results in a catalogue that doesn’t seem to understand the basics of what players want.
This is what kind of really basic clothing for masculine sims I would like to see: plain and simple slim jeans with many color options, and t-shirts with nice design and a bit of texture.
(And even if it is not the subject, body hairs too!)@TheSims @SimGuruBat @SimGuruNova pic.twitter.com/QLlkNvq8ZZ
— Rope🌿 (@simsontherope) November 17, 2021
The Sims Team’s announcement of The Sims 4 Modern Menswear Kit probably would’ve gone better if these problems didn’t exist in the game.
This upcoming CAS Kit has been made in collaboration with Stefan Cooke whose real life clothing catalogue has been converted into the world of The Sims 4. There are some interesting pieces that have been revealed in the official screenshots and it’s a breath of fresh air to see The Sims Team finally breaking the stigma of “Skirts and Dresses are for feminine characters only!”.
However, the issue with this Kit specifically isn’t that, nor will it ever be. It’s the fact that this high-end fashion collaboration is being done as a direct response to the current problems of masculine fashion in the game:
The creation of the pack came in response to demand from The Sims players, who felt like this modern menswear was underrepresented in the options for dressing characters. “The thing with The Sims, and one of the reasons that it’s lasted so long, is that it listens to its players,” continues Cooke. “It’s about making sure that there are enough options of everything.”
Instead of fixing the existing catalogue and ensuring all clothing fits on all body frames, we’re getting a Kit with 23 masculine pieces, only which some of them are considered to be aimed towards more feminine fashion. The rest of the catalogue is unfortunately detached from the community’s expectations of “Modern Menswear”:
The Sims 4 Modern Menswear Kit in collaboration with Stefan Cooke is set to release on December 2nd, 2021. Sadly, the need for functional cross-fashion clothing and actual “modern” menswear will probably last long after that…
This is basically exactly my feelings, you know what I’d be really happy if they made some of the existing skirts not look clunky AF on masculine sims, but this feels like a kick in the teeth when we have so little in the way of mainstream menswear in the game.
What the heck is going on with that brown outfit. From the front it looks like he’s wearing boxers over pants and a matching shirt. And what’s going on in the back?!?
I’m definitely skipping this one. Honestly, it’s not the skirts themself that bother me, it’s the length. Why are they so short? And it’s paired with a top that looks like it’s for winter, but the short skirt isn’t winter friendly at all. Plus, it looks like they made the skirts and tops a full body outfit instead of separates, which makes them less useful since you can’t mix and match. But the main reason I’m skipping is because most of the items are, in my opinion, ugly and nothing I’d put any of my sims in. That head to toe denim suit looks tacky to me and what’s with the brown plaid boxer shorts over the pants? Totally not my style.
Typo:
“Stefan Cooke whose* real life clothing catalogue”
All fixed, thanks!
This is exactly what I am thinking about this new kit. First I was happy to hear that we will get some male fashion but then I was really, really disappointed… 🙁
Men shouldn’t wear dresses, they should wear tunics, or at the very least call it something other than a dress. I have no problem with men not wearing pants. They have always worn flexible fashion – just look at fashion that is not influenced by the West and you will see that. I have a problem with men wearing clothes that are for the female frame. Create clothes that are for the male frame. And I do have some sims in my game: Johnny Zest, and I created a back story for him so his father and uncle Jason & Jules they all wear skirts and some wear female swimming bottoms because there really needs to be more variety in male swim trunks. Also Jovan Scruggs – is another male sim who wears skirts.
I disagree that all of the female clothes need to be retrofitted for the male frame. Remember boycut jeans – eek – most jeans manufacturers sold them in the early 2000s and us curvy women were left with our arses hanging out of ill fitting jeans. We have different body types – that is a reality. And the best thing to do is to create clothing that fits our frames and makes us look great.
I do not have a problem with a fashion designer’s line coming into the Sims. I have a problem with the fact that we Simmers have been requesting more clothing for men – and not that old fashioned grandpa from the 1970s & 80s looking clothes, can we get away from the plaids, bulky sweaters and shirts tied around the waist. Instead The Sims gave us men wearing feminine looking clothing and a ton of tasteless sweaters. I do not know who makes the decision to add clothing in the game but there is a distinct taste problem.
Yes there a quite a few queer players who want gender bending clothing and hoorah for providing a kit for them. But there are also a ton of other players who want masculine clothing that represent a variety of fashion genres. It would be nice if the Sims team would create more clothes for men that met a variety of tastes across all of the styles they have in the game.
I mostly play male sims and even if I don’t mind raiding the ladies’ department for variety (where a garment can be made to translate well, which is seldom), I have long been disappointed by the paucity of style options for male sims. And I agree, this niche pack doesn’t fit the need.